Though still a bit frazzled having arrived just over a week ago, I’m back in California for an extended visit (sissy getting married!) and finding myself assuredly falling back into old habits. The commute to work first veers towards grabbing a convenient cup of coffee for the drive; gym clothes, work shoes, and all other essentials now reside in my (borrowed) car; and I thoroughly enjoy being able to order things such as soy lattes or buckwheat organic spinach crepes at the farmers’ market.

Memorial Day weekend brought about a mini reunion – old friends, new friends, crisscrossing circles, kiddies, babies, and adults alike. Best of all, Sandra and Lolo made the drive up to Norcal to partake in the weekend festivities.

We first drew ambitious plans of cooking up a storm at a friend’s backyard BBQ. However, as the weekend and time quickly passed us by, Sandra and I settled to raid the Campbell Farmers’ Market for the freshest of veggies and the sweetest of fruits in order to toss together a few simple but tasty salads for our party contribution.

Cherries in season at the Campbell’s Farmers Market

I defaulted to creating a super-sized version of kohlrabi slaw, but substituted sesame seed oil and a touch of olive oil for the fish sauce to accommodate the vegans, and added just a splash of rice wine vinegar (3:1 ratio of oil to vinegar). Of course, some extra found goodies were also added: chopped green onion, cilantro, rainbow carrots, cucumber, and pickled ginger/beets (found at a kraut stand that additionally offered kimchi and pickled jalapenos). The ginger/beets painted my originally color diversified salad with a uniform shade of magenta, but nonetheless added great crunch with just a hint of “sauer.”

Kohlrabi slaw bathed in magenta.

Sandra and Lolo endeavored together on a beautiful chopped veggie salad and an additional fruit salad. The chopped salad, lightly tossed in a lemon and olive oil, with a pinch of salt and pepper included a variety of mixed greens, cherry heirloom tomatoes, oven roasted baby beets, half a pound worth of shaved parmesan, and a Sandra-requirement… two jumbo Haas avocados. We desperately searched the market for perfectly ripened avocados, and next a Trader Joe’s, but finally sped into trusty Whole Foods as the last resort. Not the first time a Whole Foods has saved the day!

Yes, we know – it’s been a while since Sandra and I have made a squeak in the blog-o-sphere. But hopefully the days of being MIA are behind us as the fantastic weekend together brought about a few new ideas and delicious inspirations… stay tuned!

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During our farmers market outing, KJ and I also picked up some gorgeous ginormous stalks of green scallions. Long, flowing, huge and wonderful. However, when cooking, I’ve become so accustomed to simply grabbing a red or white onion out of the vegetable basket that the scallions remained a bit neglected in the back of fridge for the following few days.

I was in luck, however, when I stumbled upon a recipe for scallion soup (courtesy of Saveur) while on the hunt for new warm comfort recipes. The original recipe adds a bit of butter to cook the green onions and finishes with a big helping of heavy cream. I wish I could say that I omitted those two ingredients out of a healthy conscience, but truth be told – I simply didn’t have butter nor cream on hand. Nevertheless, the soup turned out very smooth, minus the extra calories, with simply the addition of an extra potato (I used two potatoes instead of the one that the original recipe calls for). Also, sweet potatoes were substituted for the Russet potato used in the original. I found the sweetness to actually nicely balance the strong flavor of the onions.

In a large stock pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Set aside one chopped stalk of green onions for garnish; add the rest into the pot. Stirring often, cook until the onions are soft, but not browned (~5 minutes). Next, add the sliced sweet potatoes (I used the white variety), stock, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and allow the soup to a simmer. Cook until potatoes have softened, ~25 minutes. Finally, using an immersion blender, puree the mixture until smooth and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into individual bowls and sprinkle a bit of reserved chopped scallions over each.

KJ said that she could eat this soup every day – coming from a teenager, about the best compliment one could ever hope for! Considering the simplicity of the soup, well, she just might be eating it much more often than she had wished….

I’ll admit it – I’ve always been a bit intimidated by large gourds – calabazas, pumpkins, butternuts. I think it’s mostly because of the squash’s size, though reasons extend to its tough outer peel, tangled innards and mess of seeds. And, though I do immensely enjoy a smooth and creamy calabaza or butternut soup, after a long day, sometimes I’m simply too lazy for that extra step of plugging in the immersion blender. Heck, sometimes even too lazy to turn on the stove.

Today's afternoon market... big calabazas!

But alas, with a just sharpened knife and new veggie peeler, my fears have been replaced by a newfound adoration – the oven roasted squash. I could imagine roasted calabaza being delicious just on its own, however, I decided to combine the squash with some hearty quinoa to add a bit of heft to the meal. The use of both white and red onions was a vain attempt to bring in some color, but after a long roast, it was mostly the color brown. Finally, the addition of warm spices – like cumin, cinnamon, and nutmeg – made the cold wintery evening simply melt away.

So simple!

Curried Quinoa with Roasted Calabaza and Raisins

Ingredients (serves 4):

~0.5 kg or 1 lb of calabaza (butternut or pumpkin also works) squash, peeled and cut into small cubes

1/2 white onion, finely sliced

1/2 red onion, finely sliced

1 cup (measured uncooked) quinoa

1/2 cup raisins

1 heaping tablespoon curry madras

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

3-4 tablespoons good olive oil

salt and pepper

zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 200 deg C (~390 deg F). Line a large baking tray with foil. Toss cubed calabaza and sliced onions with spices (curry, cinammon, nutmeg), a few pinches of salt/pepper, and oil; spread onto the baking tray in an even single layer. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until calabaza just begins to brown. While the squash is roasting, cook quinoa as directed. Additionally, to plump the raisins, place raisins into a small bowl and cover with hot water.

Once everything has finished cooking, in a large serving bowl, combine together the squash, onions, and quinoa. Add the lemon zest. Also drain and add raisins. Salt and pepper to taste.

The market had some beautiful green asparagus. It also had some beautiful white asparagus. Of course, I couldn’t resist either.

Always over eager with my fresh market finds, I wanted to combine both into a pretty striped side dish of punchy greens and creamy white. I’ve tried white asparagus only once in Germany and admittedly, it didn’t leave a big impression. But, I hold a bias against boiled vegetables and the lack of texture and often times, loss of flavor that ensues. Rather throwing my spears into water, I chose an oven bake to better caramelize the natural sugars of the vegetables and enhance flavors. The result: wonderfully sweet green asparagus mixed with warm, nutty whites.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (392 degrees F). Meanwhile, wash asparagus and trim woody ends. For the white asparagus, hold each spear flat against a cutting board and peel away tough outer layer from just below the tip to the ends.

Place asparagus spears into a baking dish lined with foil. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, mix, and arrange into a single layer. Bake for ~20 minutes, until spears are tender and just begin to caramelize.

For the dressing, gently melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, stir in salt, pepper, lemon juice, parsley, and remove from heat. To serve, pour the herbed lemon butter over asparagus. Garnish with an additional sprinkle of minced parsley.

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Continuing on a bit of a soup foray, KJ chose the name for her mother’s delicious butternut squash soup that we made a few nights back. She wanted something to emphasize the ingredients and vibrant color; she also wanted to reflect a foreign language. “Crazy Orange Soup” soon evolved into “Folle d’Orange.” I nodded in agreement that things did sound better in French, while in the back of my mind, pondered other ways to siphon her burgeoning creativity. (She also deserves credit for the pretty food styling.)

Folle d’Orange stars only two ingredients – one big butternut and a handful of oranges. An onion, however, got thrown into ours for extra measure. We worked together chopping everything up. Once the last bits and pieces were collected into a large stock pot, KJ took charge of the kitchen (self-reliant teenagers are great!) and I was relieved of my sous chef duties.

Folle d’Orange (adapted from KJ’s mother’s Butternut Soup)

Ingredients: (serves 4)

large butternut squash, peeled and cubed

onion, diced

one orange, cut into slices

two oranges, juiced

1 liter water

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

cream (optional)

Heat olive oil in a large stock pot, over medium high heat. Add onions and cook until onions soften, stirring occasionally, ~5 minutes. Add cut butternut, sliced oranges, and 1 liter of water. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and the mixture to a simmer. Cook until the butternut fully softens, ~25 minutes.

Note to reduce the amount of water used depending on the size of the butternut; the water level should just barely cover the squash. We had only been able to find a fairly small butternut at the market, but used the full amount of water – which ended up be being far too much. The mistake was easily fixed, however, by allowing the water to boil off over high heat.

Following, discard orange slices. (As another tweak, we used clementines that we had on hand and left the peeled slices in, since they had mostly disintegrated anyways.) Puree the mixture with an immersion blender until smooth. Stir in the juice of the remaining oranges and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve piping hot with a small drizzle of heavy cream.

The soup showcases the flavor of the butternut, with just a hint of citrus. It was even better the second time around, thickened with a cup of bulgur during reheating and transformed into a delicious porridge.

I’ve been in an oven roasting sort of mood lately, I suppose my parallel universe to Sandra’s soups of late. Over the weekend, some hearty looking Brussels sprouts got tossed into my shopping bag. With the lemon tree in our front yard now flourishing, I managed to find (or rather, re-locate) the perfect recipe from the L.A. Times, bookmarked long ago and buried in my arsenal.

Wash and halve the Brussels sprouts, removing stem ends and any not-so-nice looking outer leaves. Preheat oven to 250 deg C (475 deg F). In a large mixing bowl, combine Brussels sprouts, olive oil (~2-3 tablespoons), and a dash of salt and pepper. Make sure the sprouts are evenly coated with oil. Next, lay the Brussels sprouts into a single layer, on a foil lined baking dish. Bake for ~15-20 minutes, tossing a few times in between. The sprouts should be just browned once finished.

In the meantime, whisk together ingredients for the dressing. Once the sprouts are done, immediately toss with the infused oil. Add more salt/pepper to taste, serve hot.

I couldn’t stop breathing in the wonderful citrus-y garlicky aroma, and ended up spooning some leftover dressing onto a few calamari rings that I quickly sauteed in a pan.